This part of late spring is the time for iris, a flower that has over 300 species, including the larger bearded iris and the smaller flower of the Siberian iris. Why Siberian iris have that name we’ll never know because it’s actually native to Turkey and the steppes of the old Russian empire. Their blooms are delicate and usually lasts about two weeks.
One really nice thing about iris is that the deer don’t seem to like them, unlike many other flowers in our gardens. In full flower, iris open up welcoming the sun as we, at times, think we should as well. But when the bloom is over, what’s left is a mushy little ball, all closed up, the way we often become when we feel the sun has left us.
The garden books tell us to snip off the faded balled up blooms; similarly, we should snip our balled up feelings that often overtake us as unfocused regret or anger. It’s not that we should deny those feelings but we should learn how to put them in context with the rest of our lives. In that way we can use them constructively rather than having them stunt our spiritual development and relationship with God.
Prayer for the Day
We acknowledge your steadfast love, O God,
As your presence enters into our hearts today.
Cleanse us from the burdens of our past
Breaking open the seals we set around our souls.
Grant us the wisdom to discern how to bloom like the spring
So we may live faithfully as did the One we follow.
In the name of him who called us to follow him,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds.
Libba Bray, American novelist
Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.
Ted Chiang, American writer, from The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
I sought the Lord and the Lord answered me and delivered me from all my fears;
Look to God and be radiant so shall your faces never be dark.
When the lowly calls, God listens, and from all their straits saves them.
Psalm 34: 3-7